CFP: Emma Bell Miles and Southern Appalachian Culture and Nature

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga welcomes proposals for the second annual Emma Bell Miles Symposium to be held September 9-10, 2011. The symposium honors and examines the work of Appalachian author, artist, and naturalist Emma Bell Miles and related subjects. The goal is to bring together a group of scholars, writers, visual artists, and naturalists who will place Emma Bell Miles' multifaceted contribution into the broader context of their respective fields. Interdisciplinary approaches are particularly welcome. While Miles' work is central to the symposium, proposals may also focus on other areas related to Southern Appalachia including, but not limited to, literature, history, ethnography, visual art, music, environmental studies, nature writing, journaling and personal memoirs, cross-regional perspectives, and gender studies.

Proposals may take the form of individual papers, pre-formed panels, workshops, readings, exhibits, or round-tables. An abstract of no more than 350 words should be submitted electronically to Steven-Cox@utc.edu by May 1. The abstract should include format of presentation and approximate length (generally 15-20 minutes for individual presentations and no more than 45 minutes for panels). The symposium is sponsored by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's Lupton Library, which houses the two most extensive collections of Miles' materials available, and the UTC Department of English. Keynote speakers for the event include Grace Toney Edwards (Professor Emeritus of Appalachian Studies and English at Radford University, and former Director and current Research Faculty Associate at the Appalachian Regional Studies Center) and Kay Baker Gaston (Tennessee historian and Emma Bell Miles' biographer). The symposium will also include a tour of sites in Chattanooga and on Signal Mountain that are connected with Emma Bell Miles.